Black Forest Bacon Brownies

Ok, I know, putting bacon on anything and everything possible is so 2012. But look, I don't care, these are awesome.

These brownies have the perfect balance of salty and sweet, as well as a gooey fudgey texture that really just makes them irresistible, like actually irresistible, like I ate seven of these. :/

Anyway, pitting the cherries is a real bitch but its worth it. Canned cherries just won't cut it. They really won't. Do what I did and set up your laptop in your kitchen with Scandal or How To Get Away With Murder (shout out to Shonda!! Love u!) and just start cutting these lil babes in half and remove those pits!

I took the liberty of dipping some of these bacon pieces in chocolate. Yes I know this has been done before. No I'm not winning any awards (well my award was chocolate-dipped bacon). Yes you should totally do this. Just take the left over bacon - I'm assuming you made some extra because why wouldn't you want to have extra bacon - and dip it into a little chocolate ganache and let it dry on a sheet of wax paper for an hour or two, until set.

What:

Brownies

1 2/3 cups cake flour

1.5 cups dark brown sugar

1 cup cocoa powder

4 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1.5 lb fresh black cherries, pitted and halved

1/2 cup melted butter, cooled

1/4 cup bacon fat rendered from bacon (below)

12 oz semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 t vanilla

10 oz raw pork bacon

For the topping:

8 oz dark chocolate (60-70%)

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 T butter

1 cup cherries from above

1/2 cup crumbled bacon

1 t salt (optional)

How:

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Cook bacon for topping according to instructions, reserve bacon fat and set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat eggs and brown sugar until creamy, about two minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder and add half of this mixture to the egg mixture.

Add bacon fat, butter, buttermilk and vanilla and mix to combine.

Add the remaining dry mix and beat for one minute.

Fold in cherries and chocolate morsels

Transfer to a prepared 9x13 pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool for an hour before adding the topping.

Bring heavy cream and butter to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat.

Remove from heat and whisk in dark chocolate until completely melted.

Pour over cooled cake, topping with cherries and bacon pieces.

I sprinkled some salt on top to make the sweet/salty effect a bit more pronounced.